Unit 5 Cool Creatures: Reading Text 2 Pythons in Miami

by Mark Reeves
People from all over the world come to Miami, Florida for the sun, the beach and the exciting nightlife. Nobody comes to this large city expecting to see large snakes. Giant snakes usually live in sia, !outh merica or frica. "owever, people have imported them into the #! as pets for many years. $hen they could no longer care for these animals, many pet% owners released them into the wild. !oon, there was a snake population explosion. &xperts explained that it was because snakes could live in a variety of environments, including big cities. 'he fact that snakes have many young, can eat a variety of animals and can travel long distances has added to the problem. study estimated that tens of thousands of giant snakes were already living in the wild in the #! , and some were even living in the city of Miami. Giant snakes can grow to more than six metres long. 'hey aren(t usually dangerous to people, but the experts predicted that they would be lethal to many species of birds, reptiles and small mammals. )ne researcher explained that this was because North merican animals had never developed ways to defend themselves against these strangers. *#nless the snakes are controlled, local wildlife will be destroyed,+ he added.

Giant Panda to earn Chinese

by !ebra Chase
Giant Pandas are a national treasure in ,hina. "owever, some pandas need a lesson or two in their mother tongue'here are only about .,/00 Giant Pandas left in the wild in ,hina and several hundred in captivity. lthough the ,hinese government lets foreign 1oos *borrow+ the animals for a few years, the pandas and any babies that they have must return to ,hina. 'his is to preserve the population in the panda(s native home. 'here is one problem2 pandas that have spent their entire lives in the #! don(t understand ,hinese. 'his was the situation for merican%born panda Mei 3an. $hen it was time for three%year%old Mei 3an to return to the ,hengdu 4reeding 5esearch ,entre in !ichuan, ,hina, the people at the centre advertised on the 6nternet for a ,hinese teacher to help her. 6n the advertisement, they said that the teacher had to be fluent in &nglish and ,hinese and had to have a university degree. ,ui 7ai, a worker at the center, explained that the bear would learn the !ichuan dialect of the area.